Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2023 Super Bowl

This year’s long-awaited football game happened on Feb. 12 in the State Farm Stadium, where the Kansas City Chiefs played against the Philadelphia Eagles. The number one team from the National Football Conference (NFC), the Eagles, faced off against the number one team from the American Football Conference (AFC), the Chiefs. This was the first game in a couple of years where the number-one ranked team in the playoffs faced off against one another in the Super Bowl. Both teams started the playoffs with a bye week and only needed to win two games to get to the Super Bowl rather than three.

This Super Bowl had some of the most elite talent we have seen which resulted in a high-scoring and entertaining game. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II was voted league MVP just a couple of days before the Super Bowl. Eagles quarterback, Jalen Hurts, was also in the running for league MVP making this game even more exciting. This game was highly anticipated and fairly matched. Furthermore, the “spread” (scoring units created to make a level playing field between teams for betting purposes – the lower the spread, the more even the game is) was the Eagles with 1.5 points over the Chiefs. This shows that this game was well-matched and balanced which always makes the game more appealing. This game was also the first Super Bowl ever to feature two brothers facing off against one another. Eagles Center, Jason Kelce, is an absolute stud and is considered the best at his position. Chiefs Tight End, Travis Kelce, led their team in receiving yards and is also considered the best at his position. 

The game started with a bang as the Chiefs won the coin toss and opted to kick off so they could receive in the second half. The Eagles immediately drove down and scored a touchdown. The Chiefs then got the ball and did the same, with  Mahomes’ pass to Travis Kelce. Going into halftime, the Eagles were leading 24-14 and as the players were headed into the locker room, this year’s halftime performer, Rihanna, headed out onto the field. 

As the second half started, the Chiefs got the ball and immediately drove down the field to score a touchdown. The whole third quarter was not the most exciting part of the game as the two teams had a combined total of 10 points. But the best was yet to come. The fourth quarter was by far, the most entertaining and breathtaking part of the game. With a minute and fifty-two seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs had the ball in the “red zone” (the inside the opponents’ 20-yard line; very close to scoring) it was a tied game at 35-35 and it was third down with eight yards to go. Mahomes looked to his left and threw an endzone ball to receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. The ball fell incomplete by a couple of yards and the Chiefs would have to take the field goal leaving over a minute and a half on the clock for the Eagles. But the referee threw a flag on the defender who was guarding JuJu. The defender or cornerback, James Bradberry, was called for holding which meant the Chiefs would get a first down and they could run down the clock and kick the field goal. This was a massive play because even though the Chiefs would have kicked the field goal regardless of the penalty, it left the Eagles with eight seconds instead of ninety seconds to at least get a field goal to force overtime. 

The Eagles could not make a miracle and fell short. The game ended with a final score of 38-35, giving the Chiefs the win. Most recently, the Eagles won the Super Bowl back in 2017 and the Chiefs won it in 2020 so both teams have proven to be consistent playoff contenders throughout the years. With 182 passing yards, 44 rushing yards, and three touchdowns Patrick Mahomes II was named Super Bowl MVP. He is one of the few players ever to win league MVP and Super Bowl MVP in the same season. Overall, this was one of the highest-scoring games of the year and the Kansas City Chiefs now have their third Super Bowl title.

This year’s Super Bowl halftime, performed by Barbadian singer Rihanna, drew more attention than the game itself. The performance drew 118.7 million viewers, with the game having only 113 million viewers. The singer also used this spotlight to announce her second pregnancy with American rapper ASAP Rocky. Many viewers also were entertained by the ads. According to USA Today, this year’s top-rated Super Bowl ad was The Farmer’s Dog: “Forever”, which is labeled as “our love letter to dogs”. The NFL’s “Run With It” ad was found as the second most popular. It featured flag football star Diana Flores, along with other big American Football celebrities. The ad aimed to empower women in the football industry, which was previously seen as a sport only for men, but times have changed.

Super Bowl LVIII is set to happen on Feb. 11, in the Allegiant Stadium, home of the Raiders, in Las Vegas.